Page 147 of Lovestruck at Sundown
“Thank you, Lily,” I said, blinking away the burning sensation in my eyes to make it go away. It was too early to start crying.
Cecile and Nina tossed in some flattery of their own. I thanked them for the praise and followed them as they observed each of my portraits with pride and respect.
“Did your dad confirm his attendance after sending him the invitation?” Cecile asked. I shook my head no.
“I don’t think he’s coming.” I had invited him to the exhibit and graduation through Miss Patty, his assistant. She said she’d get back to me but never did. It’d been almost a year since I last saw or talked to my dad. And even after all that had happened, it felt wrong to celebrate without him. A small, naïve part of me still hoped he would show.
“Is Tobias coming?” she whispered.
“He is. He arrived a few days ago.” Tobias was quickly following William and Joel’s footsteps when it came to traveling all the time. It was hard to keep up with who was where, but with Christmas coming up, everyone was making sure to be done with their commitments to be home for the holidays.
Even if Cecile had denied Tobias’s friendship offer, they were friendly to each other whenever they interacted. But the way Tobias looked at Cecile whenever they were in the same room together told me everything I needed to know about his feelings, even if he denied them or tried changing the subject whenever I brought her up.
“I’m doing it,” she said with confident resolve. “I’m telling him how I feel. Tonight. After the exhibit. I’m done tiptoeing around the situation and watching him come and go while I pretend it doesn’t hurt when he’s away. And if he’s done with me, then so be it. But I can’t be just friendswith him.”
“The Sjöbergs are territorial asfuck,” I whispered, making sure there was no one eavesdropping on our conversation. “Tell him the truth. Tell him how you haven’t had sex with anyone since you ended things a year ago because all you can think about is him, and you will have him at your feet.”
She laughed, but it morphed into a frustrated groan. “I know I have no business feeling jealous, but the thought of him with someone else makes me sick to my stomach.”
“Don’t think about that. Just speak from the heart.”
Half an hour later and ten minutes before the event started, the men arrived. Zara came with them, too. She was the first to walk in, followed by Tobias, Eric, Joel, and Liam.
Cecile sighed next to me but quickly disguised it by turning on her usual confident demeanor. As we waited for the event to begin, I gave Zara and the guys a quick tour of my photographs while the girls drank wine and looked around the place.
Once I showed them my display area, Liam immediately suggested a few places to celebrate after the exhibit. Everyone agreed a celebration was in order as they walked away to join Lily, Nina, and Cecile. Everyone except Tobias. He lingered back, observing my portraits with genuine interest.Aportrait, to be precise. Cecile’s.
“Hey.” I stood next to him and ran an arm around his shoulders, my five-inch heels making it easier to get closer to his height.
“Hey,” he said back.
“I assume that’s your favorite one?” I teased, wishing he would open up to me about Cecile. Not that I would have to wait too long to find out where he stood with his feelings.
“How much for the portrait?” His tone was serious. He wasn’t kidding around.
“They are not for sale, Tob.” I removed my arm from hisshoulders to take a step back and look at him. “But I would love for you to have it.” I tilted my head with curiosity, waiting for his reaction.
“No—fuck.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head twice. “Forget I said anything. Congrats, Billie. These are all stunning.”
He kissed my cheek and stormed off before I could stop him.
“Tob!” He ignored me. It was best if I let him be.
I blew out a breath through my mouth, rested a hand on my hip, and gave my portraits one last look to ensure they were all correctly aligned.
When I walked back to meet my friends, I had to do a double take of the main entrance. I was convinced my eyes were deceiving me, which caused me to almost crash into one of the gallery’s black metallic columns.
“William?” I gasped and dashed toward him. He met me halfway and lifted me off the ground, spinning me once and kissing me before putting me down on my feet again. “What are you doing here?”
Still in shock, I pressed my cheek against his chest and breathed in his familiar, comforting scent. He was real. He was here. William wasn’t supposed to be here. He said he’d make it to the graduation but not the exhibit.
“What do you think?” He laughed and squeezed me even harder against him, kissing my hair. I pulled back to take a good look at him and wiped my lipstick off his lips with my thumb. “I’m leaving tomorrow morning, though,” he said, his hands firm around my waist. “But I will return on the twentieth as promised and stay through the holidays.”
“Thank you for coming.” I stood on tiptoe and dropped another peck on his lips. I had missed him so damn much that it was only now, seeing him again, thatI grasped the full magnitude of how I felt. It was as if I’d been keeping myself half-anesthetized until he returned.
“I wouldn’t have missedit for the world.”
Three months later…
